The Royal Merman
by Otorisosa-kan
Summary: Sephiroth's patience runs out when his mother ushers him to get married. When destiny brings him to a face from his past, his desire to join her world leads him to jeopardizing his kingdom, his friends and his family. But when trapped on the land with humans, how will he save the ones he loves?
1. Chapter 1

The _Highwind_ rode through the choppy weather as the royal couple stepped out onto deck to see their only daughter balancing herself on the bowsprit.

"ANNE!"

Vincent sighed as Lucrecia raced to the front of the ship to shout at the princess.

"Get back here at once!" she barked and Anne glanced over her shoulder at her "You'll be killed!"

"I can swim," the princess meekly replied as she gripped the rope above her in case she did slip.

"Anne, listen to your mother," Vincent said as he joined Lucrecia's side "It's not good for her health every time you put yourself in danger."

"And what are you wearing?!" Lucrecia shrieked.

"It's alright, Yer Majesty!" Captain Cid called from the steering wheel "Those are the finest threads you'll find on this ship."

"And they're comfortable," Anne shrugged as she turned around fully, showing off the sailor's loose shirt and trousers.

"You look indecent, for Gaia's sake you're sixteen!"

Anne looked bored as she ignored her mother and glanced out towards the fog that surrounded the ship. Vincent squeezed Lucrecia's shoulders as she stumbled, feeling the sea sickness again.

"Anne, come down," he urged "The weather seems to be taking a turn for the worst, you might lose your grip."

"Not to mention the creatures that lurk in these waters!" Lucrecia said sharply as she swallowed heavily before fanning herself.

"You get merfolk around here."

Anne looked sharply towards Cid who grinned at her.

"They'll save ya, no problem."

"Don't get ideas into her head!" Lucrecia snapped to the captain as she glared at him "Merfolk do not exist."

"They do."

Vincent bowed his head in defeat as Lucrecia glared at Anne who had moved a little closer.

"I was saved by one when I was a little girl."

"Anne, for the millionth time, you bumped your head and dreamed it up," Lucrecia said as patiently as she could.

"Mother," Anne sighed.

"Anne, could you please come down?"

Vincent offered his hand to Anne.

"We're nearly home, they'll be lots of people awaiting our arrival. Come get dressed into something that is publicly suitable."

"She seems suitable enough for our eyes," Reno grinned toothily as he winked at the young princess whilst scrubbing the deck.

Rude slapped him over the ear as Anne tilted her head curiously. Vincent gave her a patient look and she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Father."

She took Vincent's hand and jumped back down onto the deck. She glanced back out to sea before disappearing below deck to get changed into a dress.

* * *

The underwater city of Nibelheim was buzzing with life. Merfolk with elegant jewels swam into the main room where they socialised, most the crowd being mermaids. Queen Jenova sat on her throne, smiling at the celebration unfolding before her. She glanced at the crowd that was forming around her eldest son, her grin growing wider.

"Mother."

Jenova turned to her youngest, Kadaj and smiled as he settled by her side.

"There are so many mermaids here," he mumbled "Are you sure this isn't too much?"

"You know how picky your brother can be," Jenova sighed "There has to at least be one mermaid in the oceans that he'll find to be right for him."

"As long as she meets your standards?"

"Of course."

Kadaj rolled his eyes and glanced at the crowd.

"Still, you never put this effort into Sephiroth or Loz…"

Jenova's smile fell in an instant and turned to Kadaj.

"This is specially for Sephiroth," she said and Kadaj glanced up at her with raised eyebrows.

"Are you sure? Because that's Yazoo they're crowding around."

Jenova snapped her head to the crowd.

"Yazoo?!"

It took a moment but eventually her third son wriggled his way out of the crowd of mermaids and shot to her side.

"Yes, Mother?"

He hesitated as she glared down at his chest.

"Why are you wearing Sephiroth's royal necklace?"

Yazoo swallowed slowly before glaring silently at Kadaj who just gave him a massive smirk. He straightened up, taking his time to answer as Jenova glared at him coldly.

"…I guess I must have picked it up by accident."

"Catfish is out of the bag, Yaz, just tell her," Kadaj snickered and Yazoo sighed shortly "Loz told me everything."

Yazoo glared sharply over his shoulder where Loz was trying to hide between the mermaids that were socialising on the other side of the room. He sighed in frustration, glaring up at the ceiling.

"…"

"Yazoo, darling, I know you are close with Sephiroth," Jenova purred as she ripped the necklace off of him "And I admire your loyalty."

Yazoo stared at her warily as she leaned in closer.

"But I am your mother, I am more deserving of it. So tell me, where is he?"

Yazoo closed his eyes and took a deep inhale of water. He let the water pass out slowly.

"…Not here."

"Yazoo!"

Yazoo barely winced at his mother's shriek. The band in the corner faltered in the music slightly but started up again quickly.

"He and his friends have gone off for a swim outside the city."

The water boiled around Jenova.

"SEPHIROTH!"

* * *

Cloud and Zack froze up and turned around as Jenova's scream echoed through the water. They glanced at each other.

"Now you know why it was a good idea to accompany Seph instead of staying," Zack grinned and Cloud frowned a little.

"But…I was really looking forward to spending some time with Tifa," the blonde merman muttered.

"Oh, she'll forgive you," Zack said as they followed after Angeal and Sephiroth.

"Damn!"

Sephiroth and Angeal ducked behind a rock formation, leaving the other two merman hovering there in confusion.

"Wait, why have we come here?" Cloud frowned as Zack glanced down at the prince and their friend.

"Did Genesis know we were coming here?"

Sephiroth sighed.

"I was hoping to meet him," he muttered as Zack dragged Cloud down to them.

"Wait, Genesis?" Cloud frowned "The witch Genesis?"

"Is that what he's called in the lower class?" the prince rolled his eyes.

"Cloud, Genesis was out childhood friend," Angeal whispered as Zack peered over the rocks "He was banished many years ago by Queen Jenova."

"Wait, he was one of us?" Cloud whispered and Sephiroth glared around the rocks at the merman that were guarding the way out of the kingdom and towards where Genesis resided "How did he get banished?"

Angeal glanced at Sephiroth who just shrugged.

"I don't know the exact details," he said "but it might be related to the fact that Genesis can use magic. Queen Jenova probably saw him as a threat considering that she needs to use a trident."

"If Genesis got a hold of that trident, his powers would be unlimited," Sephiroth sighed.

"But merfolk can't use magic without something to help them and even those items are strictly for the royal family."

"Genesis was special," Angeal lowered his eyes "I don't know what happened but he was born with the ability to use magic freely."

"We've been barred from seeing him," Zack pouted "I've only met him a couple of times, poor guy's a forced hermit."

"If he's so powerful then why can't he just overthrow Queen Jenova?"

Angeal pressed his hand to Cloud's mouth as the other two glanced at him with wide eyes.

"Don't even say that, she'll fry you alive," Sephiroth hissed.

"Also Genesis wouldn't do that," Angeal said "He's upset, yes, but he doesn't hold grudges."

"Needless to say, Cloudy," Zack murmured "No-one needs to know about this."

Cloud nodded with wide alarmed eyes. Angeal pulled away as Zack slipped down.

"Well, they don't seem to be falling asleep anytime soon," he sighed.

"Sephiroth!"

The four mermen hushed the newcomer who arrived rather hurriedly and settled on the sand by them, gasping for water as he fanned himself.

"You managed to keep her off the trail in record time, Loz," Sephiroth drawled as Loz looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Kadaj is mean," he pouted.

"Don't cry."

"I'm not crying!"

"You'd best go, Sephiroth," Angeal sighed "There's no use hiding now."

Sephiroth huffed as he hovered up.

"Be seeing you," he muttered "and you'd better find a good hiding spot."

Loz whined as the crowned prince swam off and Zack peeked over the rock formation.

"They look so serious," he muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

Jenova entered Sephiroth's room, seeing her eldest on his bed, staring out of his window. She smiled as she approached him, settling at the foot of his bed and placing a hand on the base of his tail.

"Sephiroth," she cooed as he flicked it out of her grip "Lady Scarlet is still here. Would you like to show her around the kingdom?"

"I did that last time, two months ago," Sephiroth said.

"Then around the city."

"She doesn't want to look at the city, she just wants to hover over my back," Sephiroth turned around from his mother fully.

"She is a wonderful mermaid, very interesting."

Sephiroth snorted derisively and Jenova's smile dropped.

"Start acting your age, you're nearly twenty-three!"

"And Scarlet has the IQ of a rock!" Sephiroth snarled as he sat up.

"That's why I held the ball yesterday, so you would find someone more suitable to your tastes!"

"Sure, it's much better when there are hundreds flocking the area, talking about where they snatched their pearls from!"

Jenova huffed as Sephiroth swam off his bed.

"Not all mermaids are the same, Sephiroth."

"Tifa Lockhart, simple little girl who complains about her shell size, Aerith Gainsborough, more focused on the seaweed than the merfolk, Lady Scarlet, can't tell the difference between a pearl and a pebble and then…"

Sephiroth hesitated and shook his head.

"No, I can't do it, I refuse to marry."

"Sephiroth, you will need an heir when you're king and I want grandchildren before it's my time to go."

"Then focus on finding wives for my brothers," Sephiroth snapped back.

"The mermaids are interested in you, Sephiroth, you're the eldest and the best."

"Well too bad."

"Sephiroth, get out there and entertain our guests right now! Listen to your mother!"

"Listen to Mother, listen to Mother," Sephiroth sighed as he rolled his eyes as the water began heating up in the room "That's what I've been doing my entire life!"

"And yet you still try to disobey me! I've told you to stop trying to contact that witch!"

Sephiroth turned to her sharply and she scoffed.

"Please, I know where you and your little friends try to escape to whenever you want to slack off from your duties."

"Genesis is alone, he's been alone and isolated for ten years!" Sephiroth nearly roared "How could you have banished him?!"

"You know very well why!"

Sephiroth scoffed and turned away.

"We can't have contact with the human world," Jenova said sternly "They're already harvesting our fish and destroying our cities."

"Why not, they can't all be bad."

"I don't know what happened up there but he was putting you in danger!"

"The human was just a child and it was crying!"

Sephiroth glared at her.

"It wasn't harmful at all."

"Because it hadn't learnt how to."

Jenova squared her shoulders as she swam to Sephiroth, their noses inches apart.

"Humans grow up. They hunt. They kill. They destroy. Remember it was humans that killed your father."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes.

"That was sixteen years ago and it had been a select few that killed him," he growled.

"And over time they have gotten more ruthless," Jenova tilted her chin up with a sneer "Now, enough of this. Go out there and at least get to know the visiting mermaids."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at her before dashing out of the window.

"Sephiroth!"

Sephiroth hissed as Jenova's bolt of energy hit him in the back. He hunched back, feeling the sting of her power and turned around sharply, glaring at her. Jenova glared back at his window, the trident steaming.

"Get back here if you know what's good for you," she said dangerously as Sephiroth gnashed his teeth at her.

Sephiroth felt dizzy for a moment as rage took him for a fleeting moment but he shook it off. The sting on his back faded quickly as he turned tail and shot off.

"SEPHIROTH!"

* * *

Sephiroth ducked by the rock formation and glared at the guards that remained through the creek which would lead to where Genesis led his life of solitude. He slumped down to the sand, hissing and rolling his shoulders. The sting had disappeared quicker than normal; he must be developing an immunity to her attacks. Leaning on the rocks, he glared up towards the surface and snarled, speeding away from the creek. He didn't know where he was going but he didn't notice the shallower waters until he broke the surface. He coughed in surprise, looking around in the dark cave in confusion. Where was this?

Sephiroth swam closer to the rocks that separated the water from the sand and perched himself on them. He closed his eyes and revelled in the peace that he found. He began to dream.

* * *

 _He was still in the cave but he was back in the water. He wasn't alone, there was someone on the sand. He could hear them crying. He approached the rocks and lifted himself up onto the rocks. He couldn't see much, everything was blurring in and out. Sephiroth tried to rub his eyes from the gunk that was clogging up in them but to no avail. He couldn't see what was on the sand. But the sobs were loud and clear._

 _"Why are you crying?"_

 _The crying stopped almost immediately._

 _"Who are you?"_

 _Sephiroth couldn't speak, he was busy trying to clear his eyes. He couldn't see very well and his eyes were hurting._

 _"Remember…"_

 _Sephiroth lifted his head from his eyes, still seeing the blur of colours before him._

 _"Remember…please…"_

 _That was a different voice to the one that was crying. But he couldn't recognise it._

 _"Remember, everything will get better if you remember…"_

 _But remember what? Sephiroth's head began spinning as suddenly, he heard a loud BOOM!_

* * *

Sephiroth sat up straight with wide eyes as he heard a loud noise. There was a lack of light from the opening of the cave which brought him to the conclusion that he had slept until dusk. Not surprising, he had to spend all of last night awake to meet with the mermaids that had visited. Curious at the continuing booming, Sephiroth jumped into the water and navigated his way out of the cave.

There were colours flashing at the surface and Sephiroth shot up, not once caring about his mother's warnings and took a deep breath to gasp at the colours exploding in the night sky. He watched for a while until he eyed the ship not too far away. He swam over to it and grabbed one of the cannon holes to peer through onto the deck. There was…music, he could hear music. He saw plenty of sailors dancing and playing different instruments.

"You're looking super, Your Highness!"

Sephiroth ducked for a moment but realised that they weren't addressing him. He peered back through the cannon hole and saw a young girl spinning and twirling with one of the sailors. She was dressed like them but it was clear that she was girl, considering the way the sailor clothes fitted around her body. Sephiroth felt his cheeks warm up as he saw her smile and the way she moved with her feet. He fiddled with his necklace which was the proof of his royalty whilst watching her spin and finish as the music ended. Cheers filled the air as the young girl bowed to the sailor she had been dancing with and joined in with the clapping.

"Thank you so much for letting me come aboard!" she said.

"Any time, princess," the red haired sailor grinned as he slung an arm around her shoulder.

"Yer've got a better constitution than Yuffie," a blonde haired sailor grinned.

"Oi!" Yuffie growled as she lifted her head from heaving her dinner over the ledge and into the sea.

The sailors laughed as Yuffie wiped her mouth and sauntered over to the girl and pushed the redhead's arm off.

* * *

"I bet the view is better from up in the crow's nest," Yuffie grinned as she grabbed Anne's arm and began tugging her to the main mast "Come on!"

Anne eagerly began climbing up with her as the sailors continued to dance and celebrate a wonderful night. Anne stood in the crow's nest and took in a deep breath of the sea air.

"It's a beautiful night," she smiled up at the constellations above her.

"I don't think it was a good idea to come up," Yuffie whined as she began looking green.

Anne laughed as the sailor girl slumped in the crow's nest, groaning. The wind was picking up a little, making the top of the mast sway a little. Anne looked out into the black ocean, her eyes wide and curious.

"What do you think lives under there?" she asked.

"Um, a bunch of fish?"

Anne laughed and shook her head.

"No, like apart from fish," she said as she leaned her arms on the ledge of the crow's nest.

"I don't know, princess, don't put ideas in my head," Yuffie shivered as she stared into the ocean "Next thing you'll know I'll be thinking about monsters and they'll get me in my nightmares."

Anne giggled as she stared down into the ocean with her.

"I meant like merfolk."

"Ah, you've been listening to Captain Cid's tales of when he was young?"

"You don't believe in them?"

Yuffie shrugged as she leaned on the ledge, glancing at the young princess.

"Seems farfetched, don't you think? Why, do you believe in them?"

Anne sighed as she glanced up at the stars.

"I've had dreams of sea monsters attacking me and merfolk rescuing me since I was a very little girl," she said "I swear I have been rescued by something in the water but it was a long time ago and I don't remember all the details. My mother keeps insisting that it's because I had bumped my head and hallucinated…"

"But…?"

Anne shook her head.

"I remember falling and hurting myself," she said "But it wasn't my head that got bumped. I swear that it was because I had injured my leg because I had fallen down, I'm not sure how and I caught my leg in the rocks. There was blood and I remember that something in the water had helped me out."

"Maybe it was just the tide?"

Anne sighed again, shrugging. Yuffie suddenly retched.

"I gotta hurl!"

Anne wrinkled her nose slightly as Yuffie jumped out of the crow's nest and began climbing down rapidly. Shaking her head, Anne leaned her head back and gazed up at the stars happily. She fiddled with her necklace, the light pink pearl warm from lying on her collarbone and sighed wistfully. She looked forward and jumped as she thought she saw something in the dark ocean. She leaned forward to take a better look and gasped. Two magenta eyes were glaring up at her from the murky darkness. Anne jumped as lightning flashed out of nowhere and the celebrations below her stopped altogether. Thunder crashed above her head and the princess looked up at the once clear sky, eyes widening as she saw dark clouds covering the stars and moon.

"Your Highness, come down!"

"Right!"

Anne yelped as the ship jolted and she fell in the crow's nest before she could slip out. The men were shouting as lightning struck the sails and when Anne got back to her feet, there was fire beneath her, there was no way for her to get down.

"Yuffie! Cid!"

"Your Highness!"

Anne yelped as she heard the mast snap and it began falling towards the ocean. There she saw it again. Its bright magenta eyes, its long hideous tongue, its sharp teeth as long as her arm and the scales that reflected in the light of the burning ship. It was the same creature that haunted her in her dreams, that scared her so much that she was too afraid to sleep in the room that had the view of the sea. She never expected it to be real.

"YOUR HIGHNESS!"

Anne felt arms wrap around her and that was the last thing she remembered that night.

* * *

 _The ship was rocking back and forth violently. She was standing in the centre of all the chaos, the waves riding high and crashing back down into the seas, the ship ruined, with no masts, shattered windows in the captain's quarters and the cannons were on their side, rendered useless. There was no-one else on board but Anne could hear the panicked shouts of the sailors, she could even hear her mother shouting for her. The ship rocked violently and Anne saw the creature again, shooting out of the sea and hunching over the boat to glare down at her with its magenta eyes and hideous scowl. She fell with the ship and landed in the water, only she landed on a rocky ledge instead._

 _Pain wracked through her body and she began crying as she couldn't get her foot out between the rocks. There was blood everywhere and she was scared._

 _"Why are you crying?"_

 _She stopped as she heard a voice._

 _"Who are you?" she asked._

 _She looked out into the water but couldn't see anything but a blur of colours. It was like there was something stuck in her eye. She began rubbing them frantically, perhaps it was sand or maybe her eyes were clogged up with tears…_

 _"Remember…"_

 _It was a different voice that spoke to her._

 _"You need to remember…"_

 _But what was it that she needed to remember?_

 _"Remember, I need you to remember, please…"_

* * *

Sephiroth woke up holding the young princess in his arms on the sand in the cave. His eyes winced at the morning light as he propped himself up and looked around. He began remembering last night, he had watched the sailors dance some more until a storm hit the ship out of nowhere. It was startling and he remembered that the girl that had been called a princess was still up on the top of the ship. She couldn't get down because of that orange heat that humans called fire was blocking her. Fire can hurt humans and the pole snapped all of a sudden. She had been terrified and she fainted when Sephiroth had caught her. He then swum them here and he must have fallen asleep.

Sephiroth turned over and reached out to brush the hair out of the princess's face. She looked serene and she was still breathing, that was a good sign. He leaned over and noticed a faint glint around her neck. Brushing the collar of her shirt aside, Sephiroth picked up the light pink pearl and ran a thumb over it. He lost his breath for a moment, staring at the beautiful gem and running his thumb over it again and again. It…brought forth a nostalgic feeling, like he had seen something like this before. Maybe Jenova had a similar necklace that he enjoyed to play with when he was a baby. He smiled softly and glanced at the young girl's sleeping face, raising his free hand to cup her cheek. She was gorgeous. Sephiroth found the catch and managed to undo the necklace. The girl stirred as he lifted it to the light and admired its beautiful glint. He glanced down at his own necklace, a dark gold medallion that was a small map of Jenova's kingdom. He took it off and put the pink pearl necklace on. He leaned over the princess and put his necklace on her, lifting one of her hands to put the medallion in.

"Yuffie?"

The girl stirred beneath him and he froze. Her red eyes began fluttering open and she moaned, lifting her free hand to rub her eye. They made eye contact with one another and time seemed to slow to a stop. The girl paused as she blinked a couple more times to clear her vision. She reached out and Sephiroth took her hand, pressing it to his cheek. It was a very small hand and Sephiroth let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes, it was so warm and soft… He squeezed his other hand that was wrapped around her other hand that was clutching the medallion.

"Who are you?"

Sephiroth opened his eyes as he looked down at her with a look of contentment. But before he could answer…

"Your Highness!"

"Anne, where are you?!"

"Princess Anne!"

Sephiroth snapped his head up to the cave entrance and quick as lightning, pushed himself away from the girl and dove back into the sea.

* * *

"Wait!"

Anne sat up and watched the sea green tail disappear into the water. She pressed a hand to her mouth, staring at the water in horror.

"She was a mermaid…"

* * *

Her voice echoed in the dimly lit room as a voyeur observed the exchange with curious eyes.

"Well…" they drawled "this is an interesting development…"


	3. Chapter 3

Sephiroth was resting in his favourite quiet spot in the garden, admiring the pearl around his neck. He had retreated here to avoid certain wrath from his mother after pretty much disappearing for a solid twenty-four hours. No-one has found him…

"Seph, you're alive!"

Oh, wait, there's Zack. Sephiroth blinked out of his reverie and looked up to see Zack diving down towards him. He swam off the rock he was perched upon and watched him flit past and crash into the sand.

"Sephiroth, where have you been?!"

Sephiroth looked a little sheepish as Angeal approached him, his arms firmly crossed over his chest whilst Cloud helped Zack out of the sand.

"I needed to go somewhere to clear my head," he muttered.

"At least leave a note!"

"Sorry," Sephiroth huffed as Zack was popped out of the sand and dashed to hover over Angeal's shoulder.

"Oh, a shiny!"

Sephiroth backed off slightly so Zack wouldn't be able to grab the pearl around his neck. Angeal's eyes landed on it next and they softened whilst Cloud watched from afar.

"Pink pearls are really rare," he commented as the mermen clustered around the prince.

"Where did you get this?" Angeal asked and Sephiroth's cheeks went slightly pink.

"It's…" he muttered under his breath and the mermen leaned in "it's an exchange."

There was silence until Zack's voice nearly broke.

"REALLY?!" he yelled as everyone winced "You already exchanged with one of the mermaids?! Is that where you were?! You didn't knock her up did you?!"

"Keep it down," Sephiroth hissed as Angeal and Cloud simultaneously slapped their hands around his mouth "Mother will hear."

"…She isn't a mermaid that she will approve of," Angeal tilted his head and Sephiroth nodded firmly "Who is she?"

"Better not be Aerith," Zack warned as he pulled his mouth out of reach.

Sephiroth snorted derisively. Angeal suddenly narrowed his eyes.

"Sephiroth, please don't tell me that there is a spy mermaid out there wearing the Royal Medallion."

"No, no, she's not a spy."

"She's an assassin aiming for the queen?"

"Of course not."

"Genesis?"

Everyone gave Cloud a blank look.

"…No."

"Sorry," the blonde muttered as he ducked his head.

"Is that my son?"

Everyone turned to see Jenova with Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo. The youngest prince just smirked deviously and Sephiroth rolled his eyes. But Jenova didn't look as livid as anticipated, in fact she looked quite pleased. Sephiroth suppressed a shudder, that smile didn't seem right.

"You've exchanged your necklace with another's?"

Oh, she was onto that. Jenova fiddled with her own necklace, a medallion with a large ruby embedded into it. She approached closer, her eyes wide and expecting.

"May I see?" she purred.

Sephiroth hesitated as she hovered over him and he opened his palm to show the pearl. Jenova looked down at it and her smile faltered. There was silence as her smile was dropped altogether and she began sneering. She snatched her trident off from Loz, who had been carrying it from her and held the middle tine over the pearl.

"You disobedient, ungrateful child!" she shrieked as even Kadaj backed off from the anger radiating off her "You've been to the surface! You've been chasing after the whores that are women!"

Sephiroth's eyes widened as he backed off quickly, making sure the pearl wasn't damaged and everyone stared at the queen in disbelief. How could she have known he had been to the surface just by looking at the necklace? Jenova took a deep breath and beckoned Sephiroth.

"Come here, tell me where she is," she snarled and Sephiroth shook his head.

"No."

"There is a human up there with the map of our kingdom! She is going to bring more humans and destroy us!"

"No, no, she wouldn't! She loves the sea!"

Jenova scoffed.

"Give me that necklace," she demanded and Sephiroth backed off more.

"No!"

"Give it here!"

Sephiroth turned tail and fled.

"SEPHIROTH!"

There was a strangled choke and Sephiroth turned, eyes wide to see Cloud had shielded him from Jenova's energy beam.

"Swim," he rasped as Zack began shouting in a panic "Get out of here…"

"Cloud…"

"No mother has the right to attack her child, get out of here."

Yazoo had lunged for Jenova and was trying to reason with her as they wrestled for the trident. Sephiroth watched the chaotic scene and fled to deeper waters.

* * *

Sephiroth settled against the rock ledge, cursing the soldiers that were guarding the way to Genesis's lair. If only he had some weapon, then he'd be able to intimidate them to letting him pass. Or maybe just knock them out so they wouldn't talk. Just as he thought that, there were two startled screams and he poked his head out. His breath hitched as the mermen guards flopped down into the sand and a merman, pale form lack of sunlight but his hair and tail contrasted and clashed with their vibrant hue. Genesis gave him a smile.

"It's been too long, my old friend," he said as Sephiroth swum up to him to link hands "How are you, Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth pressed his forehead against Genesis's.

"I honestly had better days."

The redhead smiled as he pulled Sephiroth through the creek. His hands were warm and static from using magic to knock the guards out. Sephiroth followed him deeper and deeper into the water, feeling more and more uneasy as it got darker and darker. They finally arrived at the cave that emitted a soft red glow. Genesis summoned a bubble to push something in which would create fire as a light source. It always fascinated Sephiroth when he did that, it seemed so simple but it was so…strange.

"Come in, you're probably very tired."

Sephiroth hesitated but followed him into the cave. Genesis lured and settled him down onto some of the soft seaweed bedding. The fire bubbles emitted plenty of warmth and it relaxed the prince. Genesis offered a bowl.

"I finally managed to grow a decent batch of light blue sea flowers," he said as Sephiroth took it eagerly, eating and filling his rather empty stomach.

Sephiroth chewed the flowers slowly when Genesis settled opposite him and fingered the pink pearl around his neck.

"It is very beautiful."

Sephiroth lowered the bowl and glanced up at him.

"How's Angeal?"

"He's fine, he misses you."

Genesis smiled a little wider before glancing at the orb in the centre of the room.

"Your little girlfriend is cute."

Sephiroth blinked in confusion before Genesis pointed to the orb. A picture of the princess appeared in the orb. She was standing on a balcony, looking out to sea whilst holding the medallion in her hands.

"Her name is Anne," he supplied as Sephiroth inched forward a bit more to take a better look "She's royalty, like you, she is a little different than other women. For one, she prefers to dress like men."

"How do you know this?" Sephiroth frowned.

"I've been watching her for a while, she's a curious little thing."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes and Genesis simpered, waving a hand dismissively.

"You got to her first," he smiled "I was actually considering exchanging but it would take a lot of magic to become human."

Sephiroth straightened up to attention as Genesis fiddled with his nautilus seashell necklace.

"It's possible to become human?"

Genesis turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes but it does have its sacrifices…"

"Like what?"

Genesis sighed.

"Sephiroth, you have friends and family here, is she really worth it?"

"Genesis, my mother has been increasingly violent, I can't take it anymore. And look at her."

Sephiroth's eyes went back to the vision in the orb.

"She isn't like the mermaids down here and I think we can get along."

Genesis glanced at the orb, sucking in his cheek.

"The downside to going up there, I'll need your voice."

Sephiroth looked at him in disbelief. Genesis shrugged.

"Permanently anyway," he said "I could send you up there for a couple of days but you'll turn back and you'll have to wait at least a month until I get my strength back to go up there. Or…"

He thumbed his nautilus shell.

"Give me your voice and you can stay up there for as long as you want."

Sephiroth stared at him long and hard. He reached up and rubbed his throat, staring at Anne with longing eyes. Genesis watched quietly as he inched a little closer, clutching the pearl around his neck.

"You'll never know what she's really like if you never go up there."

Sephiroth sighed wistfully as he ducked his head.

"My voice?"

"Indeed. Actions do speak louder than words."

Sephiroth took a deep breath and sighed, shaking his head.

"Very well."

Genesis was over him in a second, grabbing his chin.

"Live and learn."

Sephiroth's eyes widened as Genesis raised his hand and a spectral hand appeared out of it. He struggled at first and felt suffocated as the hand dove deep down in his throat. His tail thrashed in alarm, gasping as Genesis pulled the hand out of his throat, clasping a glowing ball of light. Sephiroth coughed, spluttering and tried to shout at Genesis for the sudden action, only to hear quiet. He covered his mouth in alarm as Genesis allowed the ball to slip into the nautilus shell.

"I'll just be making the weed you need to eat to transform," he said as he swum off into another part of the cave "Finish off those flowers, it'll most likely be your last meal under the sea."

Sephiroth was still in shock. He rubbed his neck, staring at the vision in the orb. Anne was looking at the medallion closer, thumbing the map and looking around the sea that she could see. He reached out and touched the orb, leaning in closer to watch as she sighed, leaning on the balcony railing.

"There have to be merfolk out there if this is real," she muttered before storming back into her room.

Sephiroth found himself fascinated with the furniture that decorated her room. She walked across the room, opening some doors and revealing plenty of clothes. She began undoing her dress…

"Sephiroth, don't be a pervert!"

Sephiroth glared at Genesis as the vision cancelled. Genesis raised an eyebrow.

"And you better stay decent, the men up there tend to wear something to cover their chests. I'll be sending you up there with trousers so you can get used to them."

Trousers? Sephiroth tilted his head and Genesis rolled his eyes, coming closer with a bowl of green weed.

"It's to cover the legs, humans and merfolk have different genitals, they tend to have it all hanging out instead of sheathed. So remember to put clothes on before greeting any humans."

Sephiroth's cheeks went red and Genesis cackled, grabbing his wrist.

"Come on. Time to become human."

* * *

Sephiroth and Genesis perched themselves on the rocks in the cave. Genesis pressed his knuckles into the weeds a couple of times before offering the bowl to Sephiroth. Sephiroth hesitated, his hand hovering over the bowl, before grabbing the weeds and biting into them.

"You will have to swallow," Genesis said quickly as soon as Sephiroth pulled a disgusted face "Do you think growing legs is going to be a swim in the lagoon?"

Sephiroth sighed as he chewed quickly and swallowed them down. He stuck his tongue out, resisting the urge to spit. Genesis settled back a little more as Sephiroth winced, holding his stomach and his tail thrashed about. Genesis watched as the tail slowly turned into the colour of Sephiroth's skin and soon the prince was thrashing his new legs around. He turned and waved a hand, coating the legs in black trousers. Sephiroth lay on the rocks for a moment before sitting up in alarm, staring at the legs. Genesis smirked.

"Didn't think you'd be this speechless."

Sephiroth glared at him venomously and his childhood friend just chuckled.

"Try standing, but be careful."

Sephiroth shifted up to the sand and grappled onto a rocky wall. His legs were shaking as he propped himself up onto the wall and clung onto it.

"Try a few steps, slow steps."

It took Sephiroth a moment to realise what steps were. He took a shaky step and nearly slipped but clung onto the wall. This went on for a while until he was brave enough to walk around the cave in the sand. He stared in wonder at the footprints before lifting a leg to examine his feet.

"I need to leave you here, but I will keep an eye on you," Genesis reassured him "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Sephiroth glared but smiled at Genesis as he gathered the empty bowl and disappeared into the water. He took another step and froze as he heard a soft gasp. He lifted his head and saw Anne standing there, top and trousers. Her cheeks went red as he smiled, moving closer.

"I didn't think anyone else came down here," she stuttered as she looked down, fiddling with her hands.

Sephiroth tilted his head at her, lifting her chin up so he could look into her eyes. She blushed a little more and blinked.

"My necklace."

Sephiroth looked down and held the pearl out. She reached into her shirt and held out his medallion.

"So is this yours?"

Sephiroth nodded and Anne smiled, taking it off and putting it around his neck. Sephiroth was hesitant to part with the pearl but he mirrored her actions.

"That map, what kingdom is it?"

Sephiroth paused before glancing at the sea. Anne followed his gaze and looked back up at him.

"It's where the merfolk live, isn't it?"

Sephiroth hesitated and Anne frowned.

"Um, what's your name?"

Sephiroth stared at her blankly and he hung his head.

"Cat got your tongue?"

The princess giggled as he gave her a confused look. Her giggles died down and she covered her mouth.

"You really can't talk…"

Sephiroth grimaced as she bowed her head.

"…Do you have a place to stay?"

He shook his head.

"Would you like to stay with us? Mother can be very charitable to those who have no homes. She particularly takes sympathy over the disabled."

Sephiroth nodded and brought her hands into his. Anne jumped at this action and her whole face went red as he kissed her fingertips. She ducked her head as he smiled down at her.

"Um, my name is Anne," she said weakly and stepped back slightly "Come on, let's get you washed and dressed."

Sephiroth followed her out of the cave happily, stopping only once to glance out at the sea. He took in the fresh sea air before continuing to follow her, always stuck to her back.

* * *

Genesis breathed in the different substances that congealed in the room and grinned as he arched his back, combing his fingers through his auburn hair. It quickly turned silver as he grew a little more, his red tail turning green. He opened his now green eyes at his reflection and Sephiroth's voice echoed in the cave.

"It begins."


	4. Chapter 4

Angeal paced around the waters near the creek where Genesis's home was. There were guards on standby as usual and he was trying to come up with a reason why he would want to visit without being suspicious. He could understand why Jenova might not want her own sons to visit but isolating Genesis completely seemed a bit extreme. He wasn't dangerous, he wouldn't want to hurt anyone…

"Angeal."

Angeal turned quickly and sighed in relief as Sephiroth approached him.

"Where have you been?" he asked as they hovered out of sight of the guards "We've been looking for you everywhere."

"I needed to see Genesis," the prince replied with a soft sigh "I couldn't risk hiding somewhere in the kingdom. Mother would find me quickly."

"Indeed she would," Angeal nodded and frowned "Your necklace?"

Sephiroth rubbed his neck, looking a little forlorn.

"I asked for Genesis to keep a hold of it," he said "Mother might damage it if she sees it again."

"Is it true? You were up on the surface?"

Sephiroth shrugged with one shoulder as they began swimming towards the palace.

"She's very beautiful."

"But why a human?"

"…"

Sephiroth just swum ahead and Angeal swum faster to keep up with him. They crossed the kingdom, Sephiroth glancing around idly whilst Angeal observed with a soft frown.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm heading in the direction as my irate mother, do you think I'm alright?"

"Exactly, why are you going back now?"

Sephiroth paused as they arrived on the outskirts of the Nibelheim. He looked up at the towering palace in silence.

"Genesis really misses you."

Angeal looked startled at the sudden change of subject as Sephiroth gripped his hands.

"Whatever happens next, don't hold him personally for it."

Angeal blinked and the prince was gone, he had darted into the palace.

"Sephiroth?!"

Angeal chased after him as the prince breezed past Zack and Cloud. Zack blinked and looked at Angeal.

"What's wrong with Seph?" he asked as Cloud, wrapped in bandages, followed after Sephiroth for a few moments.

"That's not Sephiroth," Cloud muttered as he followed after him.

"Cloud?"

Zack and Angeal glanced at one another before following the other mermen to the throne room. Cloud was hovering at the doorway to the throne room as he watched Jenova turn and look at Sephiroth. They waited behind him, being able to watch over the blonde's shoulders.

"Sephiroth," Jenova sighed angrily "I will give you one last chance. Where is she?"

Sephiroth was just there, staring back at Jenova.

"Sephiroth!"

"Why should I tell you?" Sephiroth snapped back "You'll just kill her."

The other princes were hovering by the other doorway, watching with disbelieving eyes. Angeal was speechless. Jenova looked like she was going to turn as red as her tail with anger.

"Don't you talk back at me like that!"

Sephiroth dodged the beam of energy that was aimed for that. Cloud twitched in agitation.

"He's too nimble to be Sephiroth," he said "Who are you?!"

Sephiroth ignored Cloud's shout as he darted forward, catching Jenova off guard. Sephiroth smirked at her as he grabbed the trident in her hands.

"Ta."

Jenova shrieked as magic shocked and threw her across the room, crashing into one of the walls.

"Mother!"

Sephiroth swooped the trident as the six merman flooded in and they were thrown back, tied by golden bounds.

"Seph, what gives?!" Zack yelped as he struggled.

Sephiroth closed his eyes and waved the trident over him. His hair shrunk to shoulder length and his tail turned from green to red. Blue eyes opened and Genesis smiled at the flabbergasted audience.

"Genesis?!" Angeal was struggling even more "Genesis, you said you weren't interested in taking the throne!"

Genesis bound Jenova with dark purple constraints before she could react in time.

"I'm not," he said dismissively, still using Sephiroth's voice, as he began swimming towards Cloud "You…"

Cloud stiffened as he gripped his chin, turning his head from side to side.

"Cloud, isn't it?" he purred "Interesting, I'll get to you later…"

"Gen, what is going on, where's Seph?!" Zack yelped after trying to gnaw his way through his restraints.

"You know he fell in love with a human?" Genesis hummed as he grabbed Cloud by the scruff and placed him on the ledge of the platform where the throne was "He wanted to be human too, so he's up there trying to win her heart…"

Genesis dipped into his pouch and put on his nautilus shell necklace. He opened his mouth and a ball of light floated out, retreating into the shell. Genesis sighed happily as he began circling the room, pausing by the three princes.

"Do you love your mother?"

"Of course," Kadaj spat as Yazoo remained stoic, silent and glaring at Genesis whilst Loz fidgeted uneasily.

Genesis eyed Yazoo and Loz and took Yazoo first. Both he and Loz were beside Cloud, all of them trying to struggle out of the bounds.

"In here, the Royal Family are in danger!"

"Oops," Genesis sighed as he threw a spell at the guard and bound him to the floor "that's going to be a hassle."

"Genesis, what is the meaning of this?!" Angeal demanded as Zack thrashed his tail, only wiggling around on the floor.

Genesis paused and swum over to him. He settled beside him, using the trident to bind another merman guard that had come swimming to the scene. He looked down at his friend's face, cupping his cheek and tilting his head.

"Angeal, do you remember our hometown?"

When Angeal furrowed his brows, Genesis sighed mournfully.

"I'd better secure the palace, shouldn't be too long."

"Genesis!"

Genesis got up, grabbed Jenova by her hair and dragged her along with him. She shrieked, cursed and thrashed along the way as the other merman struggled more, leading to Cloud and Yazoo butting heads and Zack hitting Angeal's tail with his own.

"Zack, just stop moving," Angeal huffed gruffly.

"But we need to stop Gen!"

"How?" Yazoo asked as he closed his eyes whilst dealing with his new headache "He's too powerful with the trident."

"I dunno, reason with him?"

"I couldn't even get a word of reason to him, what makes you think we'll be able to talk him out of taking over the kingdom."

"We just need to find the right words!"

Yazoo sighed as he shook his head.

"This was inevitable," he said "since he got banished, what was the reason anyway?"

"He can use magic, he was seen as a threat," Angeal said.

"No, the real reason. It has to be something else."

Yazoo opened his eyes.

"It has to be."

* * *

"So unfortunate for you to have been born a mute."

Sephiroth just nodded along to Lucrecia's chattering as he waited impatiently by the table. The clothes were scratching at his skin uncomfortably, was this what he needed to get used to? He glanced at the door that he had to come through, wondering when Anne would be coming in.

"We could find work for you in the town and you can stay here until you can support yourself…"

Does this woman ever shut up? Sephiroth kept up his charming smile, nodding politely as a thank you to the queen. Lucrecia's eyes lit up at his feigned interest and burst into another bout of chatter. Sephiroth felt his brow twitch a little but his annoyance ebbed away as the doors opened and he sat up. Anne stepped into the dining room, looking a little uncomfortable as she walked across the room to sit opposite him in her red dress.

"Oh, darling, you look wonderful," Lucrecia sighed as she began brushing Anne's stray hairs back "Have you seen the new dress I bought?"

"I thought this was the new dress," Anne blinked.

"Well, this is an older new dress, I mean the pink one."

Anne wrinkled her nose.

"I've always said pink doesn't suit me," she said.

"It does suit you, I'm sure Tseng will like it."

"Tseng is coming soon?" Anne sounded mortified.

Sephiroth tilted his head as Lucrecia giggled.

"We are holding a ball tomorrow evening; he'll be here of course."

Sephiroth watched Anne deflate a little as dinner was served before them. Sephiroth hesitated and watched as the princess picked up the items by the plate and began using them on whatever it was on the plate. He slowly picked up the utensils and mimicked her actions, blinking as he tasted the meat and decided it was good.

"You seem foreign, you look foreign," Lucrecia opened her mouth again and Anne looked up, meeting his eyes and blushing, looking away.

Sephiroth tried to catch her eye again and Anne lowered her fork.

"Well, maybe we could give him a tour around the town," she said "He doesn't seem to be from around here, right?"

Sephiroth nodded and Anne's eyes lit up.

"We could go for a Chocobo ride!" she said excitedly and Sephiroth couldn't help his quizzical look "You don't know what Chocobos are?"

Sephiroth swallowed uneasily, were they common on land?

"Now, Anne, not everyone has privileges like us," Lucrecia sighed and Sephiroth's shoulders relaxed.

"Oh…"

Anne ducked her head as Lucrecia hummed.

"Still, that means you're not from a noble family if that's the case," she said and Sephiroth blinked "I wonder what work you could do. Maybe help the farmers or masons…"

Sephiroth ducked his head and continued eating. Lucrecia went on with her rambling as Sephiroth glanced at Anne again. The princess blushed again as their eyes met and she ducked her head, focusing on her food. Sephiroth smiled. She was adorable. He stiffened slightly as he felt a piercing gaze in his direction. He glanced out of the corner of his eye, seeing the king giving him a stern look. Ah, so there were such things as protective parents on land too. Humans weren't too different from merfolk after all. Sephiroth turned his head to Vincent and smiled politely, only encouraging the dark king to narrow his eyes. Sephiroth turned back to his food. Doesn't seem like he was going to be able to get to know Anne so smoothly with him around…

* * *

"We do have a spare Chocobo in the stables for tomorrow," Anne said as she walked up the stairs with the mute guest after dinner "He's a bit fast but he can slow down for beginner riders."

The handsome stranger just smiled as she stopped outside the room that he was to sleep in.

"I hope you'll like your room, it has a nice view of the ocean."

She opened the door for him and he ventured inside, going to the window to look out at the night scenery.

"We can go out to town after breakfast, perhaps sneak away without giving Mother and Father the opportunity to send someone with us."

He turned to her with a knowing look and she hunched her shoulders.

"It can be annoying."

Her cheeks were growing warm as he walked back towards her.

"There are some nice spots around town," she continued speaking as he stood in front of her "Maybe some jobs for you to take up will be available. Do you have any experience in work?"

He remained silent, as usual, cupping her face. Anne's face was going as red as a tomato.

 _"Remember…"_

Anne jumped away from the tall stranger and coughed awkwardly.

"Uh," she mumbled, fiddling with her necklace as she shook her head, wondering where that voice had come from "Goodnight!"

The man grabbed her hand before she could walk away. Anne turned to him and her heart leapt as he kissed her knuckles. He smiled at her sincerely and Anne could just imagine steam coming out of her ears.

"G-Goodnight!" she stuttered out again before hitching her dress and hightailing it down the corridors.

By the time she was around the corner, her heart was racing and her face was hot. She took a minute to catch her breath and looked up…to see the disapproving face of her father.

"I wouldn't get too close with him."

Anne swallowed, looking rather embarrassed. She ducked her head and ran down to her room.

* * *

 _She was on the boat again and it was rocking from side to side violently. Anne grabbed onto the main mast as members of the crew went flying into the sea, screaming for help as waves crashed onto the deck, soaking the poor princess to the bone. She coughed, spitting the salty water out and flinching as clawed hands grabbed the side of the boat. Anne looked up in horror at the creature that rose from the depths, seaweed in its hair, fish bones sticking out of its teeth and its blue body covered in slime. Anne's grip was slipping…_

 _"Remember…"_

 _Anne gasped as the ship shook._

 _"Save them…"_

 _Anne screamed as the boat was flipped over and she was plunged into the cold, murky depths…_

 _"You are my only hope…"_

* * *

Anne shot up from her dream, covered in sweat. She breathed heavily and brushed her hair back from her face. She threw the covers off from her bed and began pacing her room, breathing heavily and clasping her hands around her necklace. It always seemed to calm her down. Anne headed towards her balcony and breathed in the sea breeze. It was still night time and she didn't want to go back to sleep. She leaned on the railing, staring out at the black, murky darkness.

"Save…who?" she whispered with a soft frown.

Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched.


	5. Chapter 5

_The waves were riding high today. Sephiroth was struggling through the rough currents but found himself weak. His body wasn't strong enough. His tail was suddenly snagged in strong currents and he was pulled back into a maelstrom. He struggled against the currents, his body now half out of the water, and tried to look for a way out of this nightmare. He the noticed a large rock in the centre of the whirlpool and someone was on top of it. They were human and they were crying, their hands covering their face. Their clothes were tattered and they looked soaked to the bone. He tried calling out and saw Nibelheim in the distance. It was in ruins. The palace was torn open, debris was flying around in the currents. There were merfolk spiralling around the maelstrom with him as well and he recognised them. His brothers, Angeal and Zack as well as other citizens that lived in Nibelheim. The sky by now had turned black and the only light that Sephiroth could see was whatever was around the human's neck._

 _The water had turned black as well and Sephiroth couldn't see anyone anymore. His eyes were blurring in and out but he swore he saw something in the dark waters. He chalked it up to his imagination as he tried to make his way to the rock. But the closer he swam, the stronger the currents were and his destination seemed to drift further and further away. He tried to call out again but he couldn't make a sound. He then definitely saw something in the murky water. And so did the human, who was standing up straight, facing away from him and looking up at where he had seen the large shape. The outline was there, without a doubt, but it wasn't like anything that Sephiroth had ever seen. It was bigger than any whale he had seen and its shape was similar to that of a merfolk. Its eyes were glowing red in the darkness and it was glaring down at the human. Sephiroth was then whisked off into the dark waters as a scream echoed through the scene._

* * *

Sephiroth jolted awake and sat up, the blankets rolling off his body. He breathed in and out and sighed, settling back to the pillows as he slowly recollected his surroundings. He was on land, he was human. He threw the blankets off of him and wandered to the windows nude. He struggled at first but somehow managed to open the curtains and windows to let the morning light in. He was greeted by the fresh sea breeze and smiled. He braced himself against the sides of the windows and gazed out at the clear sea. It had been rough weather last night, perhaps that was what had triggered the…active dream. He let the breeze brush his hair out of his eyes and glanced down at the stretch of beach that was outside the gulf the castle was enclosed in. It felt like that this royal family had their own area of sea, like his kingdom. He narrowed his eyes. Wasn't there enough land for humans?

He blinked as he saw a shape moving up the stretch of beach. His eyes softened as he recognised Anne. She wasn't alone, there was someone else in her similar stature prancing around her. And some creature with four legs that was running around in circles with them. He squinted but still couldn't make out who was with the young princess. He smiled to himself. He should go down to greet her. He was halfway to the door when he remembered, he needed to put clothes on.

* * *

"You should come in for breakfast," Anne smiled to Yuffie by the door as Nanaki barked and sat down by Yuffie's feet.

"Nah, Cid'll need me to keep the _Highwind_ together," Yuffie sighed, looking a little pale already at the thought of going back onto the ship.

"If you get sick so easily then why did you become a sailor?" Anne frowned.

"If you hate being royal then why did you become a princess?" Yuffie snorted and Anne narrowed her eyes "I was born into it, you see. Plus I get to see places."

"If you're not throwing up into the sea," Anne rolled her eyes "How about you, Nanaki? You want a chop that the chefs are probably going to throw out?"

Nanaki just stared up at her and Anne pouted.

"Nah, you just want your regular, don't you?" she huffed "Come here, you."

Nanaki leaned into her hug and licked her face, getting sand down her shirt.

"Oi, Nanaki!" Yuffie hoiked Nanaki out of Anne's arms "You shouldn't ruin the young Highness's appearance!"

Anne snorted as she wiped the slobber off her face.

"Well I hope to see you around," she said.

"The _Highwind_ will be shipping out next week," Yuffie sighed as she glanced around the bay "We'll be heading back to Wutai."

"I would love to go back," Anne sighed "Without meeting…"

Yuffie snorted.

"Still can't believe he's coming over after you've just got back."

"My mother's matchmaking skills are the best after all," Anne drawled and covered her face "Oh, I hope he arrives when I go out this morning. He can be so grumpy after a journey. I don't want to be at the receiving end of his complaints."

"Bet he'll be upset if he doesn't see you first thing," Yuffie grinned "I saw him bid you farewell when you were boarding back on the _Highwind_. He seems rather fond of you."

"Fond of me or my blood?" Anne scoffed as she folded her arms "He wears a mask of a face, I can never tell what his thoughts are."

"It's all in the eyes."

Anne rolled her eyes again and placed her hand on the handle.

"You should go. I ought to wake our guest up in order to escape my mother so we can go on our Chocobo ride."

"Oh yes, this visitor," Yuffie grinned and Anne opened the door behind her "This handsome stranger who has appeared out of the blue. I must meet him."

"Maybe later, if you're in town for lunch," Anne said sternly "I think I can hear your captain from here, goodnight."

She swiftly stepped inside and closed the door. Sighing, shaking her head, she turned and jumped when she saw the handsome stranger towering over her.

"Oh, you gave me a fright," she said as she placed a hand over her heart "Are you an early riser too then?"

He nodded and Anne giggled.

"Well, I'll just get changed into… 'more decent clothing for a young princess' and grab breakfast later. I'm sure Shera will let you have a…"

She had scooted around him to go up the stairs but he had caught her by the arm. She turned and their eyes met. Her cheeks went red as she recalled Yuffie's words but she didn't look away. She just looked into his green eyes and swallowed softly. She parted her lips and turned around.

"Or…it's better to ride Chocobos in trousers," she muttered "And mother isn't up yet. And I'm actually quite hungry…"

He looked happy as she stepped down from the staircase, her eyes never leaving his. He had an intense stare, his eyes might as well glow with magic. Anne shifted on the spot shyly.

"Um, you forgot to button your shirt up."

He shifted too, his eyes reflecting something else.

"You're finding it tricky? Guess you've never had button up shirts before."

It was as if he could communicate to her through his eyes alone. Anne raised her hands, standing on her tiptoes to reach the top button and began buttoning the shirt. When it was done, Anne could just about see, still maintaining the eye contact, it was probably a little small.

"You're well built, makes me wonder what you were doing before you washed up here."

His eyes flickered again.

"Hard to say? Not insulting you…"

He smiled reassuringly.

"You're such a mystery. I want to give you a name…"

Another flicker.

"You wouldn't mind?"

Anne stared into his eyes for a little while longer.

"Rune."

He looked confused.

"Just as mysterious as Father's studies on runes. I can sort of understand them but they look so mysterious and complex."

Anne's stomach rumbled and she finally broke the eye contact.

"Let's get breakfast," she said brightly as she tugged Rune off towards the kitchen.

* * *

"Well, I haven't been here for a while."

Angeal leaned back on the bench as he and Zack stared at each other from their adjoining cells.

"I am surprised he found space for all of us," Angeal sighed, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm worried."

They glanced at Loz who was sharing his cell with Kadaj. The elder of the two was pressed up against the bars, eyes on the entrance of the dungeon.

"He has Yaz."

"And Cloud," Zack shifted in agitation.

Kadaj only had eyes for Jenova who was completely trussed up in her cell, it didn't look like she could move a muscle. She looked drained and weak, Angeal felt sorry for her.

"It doesn't help that he enchanted the locks," Zack muttered as he flicked his lock.

"Zack!"

Zack's whole body jolted with the magic energy and he was thrown back to his bench.

"Ow, I forgot that happened," he huffed whilst sliding down and Angeal facepalmed.

"You've always had the memory of a goldfish."

Everyone turned their heads sharply as Genesis came through with another merperson in tow.

"Tifa?!"

Tifa was shoved into the cell next to Jenova and she tried to lunge for him. Genesis sent her back into her cell with the trident then closed and enchanted the door.

"You're feisty, more mermaids should be like you," he said before swimming off.

"Genesis, wait!"

Genesis paused by Angeal's cell who approached him.

"Genesis, this isn't you," he said and Genesis glanced at him "You never yearned for revenge, or were you lying to us?"

Genesis leaned forward, cupping Angeal's face.

"This isn't revenge," he whispered "Angeal, things will be clear in a few more days. You just need to stay put, I can't have you getting in the way."

"Genesis, where's Sephiroth? Why do you have his voice? What's going on?"

"Angeal, you need to be patient. I promise, it will all be clear and the problem will be gone. For now? I can't risk anything."

"Genesis!"

Angeal tried to grab Genesis again but the redhead had already swam out of the dungeons. He sighed and slumped back to his bench.

"You OK?"

"Mm," he nodded.

"Tifa?"

Tifa thwacked her tail against the lock and was shocked then thrown back. Zack winced as she slid down to the floor of her cell.

"…Yeah."

Tifa hissed as she propped herself up.

"Where's Cloud?" she asked.

"Genesis has him," Zack shrugged "Where's Aerith?"

"Genesis…"

Zack was quiet for a moment before raising his voice.

"GEN! YOU BETTER NOT HURT MY ANGEL, YOU HEAR?!"

He tried to thwack his tail onto the lock then got shocked before being thrown back. Angeal gave him a glare as he slid down to the floor of his cell.

"You should really stop that," he said.

Zack coughed as his body jerked in response.


	6. Chapter 6

Sephiroth followed Anne closely as they snuck into the stables after eating breakfast. Anne looked around, her whole body taut as she led him by the hand. Sephiroth jumped as a light red creature jumped and squawked, flapping its…uh… Sephiroth just stared as its scales began to fly around and Anne jumped, hissing and waving her hand.

"Lightning!" she hissed as it continued cawing and flapping.

"Your Highness."

Anne smiled nervously as a tall man with shoulder length blue hair approached them, hands on hips with a wry smile.

"Lightning, it's alright," he soothed as he reached over and pet the creature's neck.

Lightning seemed appeased at this gesture and shook herself out, snorting and glaring at Sephiroth. Sephiroth gave her a glare of his own. Strange creature.

"Out for a sneaky morning ride are we?" the man teased as he folded his arms over his broad chest and tilting his head to the side.

"I promised Rune that we would," Anne pouted as she turned to Sephiroth "This is Sky, he handles the Chocobos and he taught me how to ride."

Sephiroth nodded curtly at Sky's friendly smile before glancing at Lightning. This was a Chocobo?

"So I suppose you'd want me to grab Silver Wind and Poppy then?" Sky murmured as he brushed Lightning's scales off Anne's head "Very well. You can saddle Poppy, I'll just get Silver Wind prepped."

"Thank you," Anne grumbled as she swatted at Sky's hand and he walked off "I'll be right back."

Sephiroth plucked the scale that was in his hair as she walked off and began feeling it. It was softer than fish scales and it was oddly shaped. He let it drop and watched it flutter down to the ground.

"Kweh!"

He jumped and glared at Lightning again who was glowering at him. What was its problem?

"Don't worry about her," Sky smiled as he brought a silver Chocobo to him "She's just moody, she hates strangers."

"Kweh!"

The silver Chocobo snorted at Lightning's caw and Lightning snorted back, scraping the ground with her foot. Sky led Sephiroth out to the courtyard to give him a quick lesson in riding.

* * *

Anne smiled as Poppy nuzzled her when they stepped back out onto the courtyard. Anne saw Silver Wind trotting along proudly with a rather apprehensive looking Rune clutching onto the reins. Rune glanced up at her as she came out and she just smiled encouragingly. She then mounted Poppy as Silver Wind stopped by Sky and stuck his head up in a satisfied manner. Poppy flapped her wings before walking over, nuzzling Silver Wind only to be snapped at. Anne giggled and glanced up at Rune. His eyes were filled with uncertainty.

"Silver Wind is always good with beginners; you'll be fine as long as you keep your back straight."

He looked a little convinced and Anne smiled wryly.

"Better than riding on Lightning."

His eyes flashed again and Anne giggled. Sky stood between the two Chocobos, looking a little sly.

"You'd make quite the couple," he grinned.

Anne spluttered as Rune stared down at him coolly.

"Shouldn't you be checking on the eggs," the flushed princess asked sternly and Sky grinned wider.

"Just don't be too long," he said "Otherwise your mother will be upset."

"Mother always finds excuses to be upset," Anne huffed and nodded to Rune "I'll lead, we can stop off at the town first then we'll ride along the coast."

Rune nodded and Anne dug her heel into Poppy. Poppy squawked, flapping her wings and took off through the open gates.

* * *

Silver Wind slowed down with Poppy and Sephiroth let out a breath of relief as they stopped just outside some buildings. It was quite uncomfortable to ride these creatures and they were extremely fast. Sephiroth needed a moment to recover. Anne slid off her Chocobo and Sephiroth slipped off Silver Wind. He landed shakily and Anne giggled.

"Yes, it took me a while to get used to it," she said as she took Silver Wind and Poppy's reins to tie them to a post nearby.

Silver Wind ruffled his…um, Sky had called them wings. And he called the scales feathers. It was fascinating, Sephiroth was curious as to what other creatures existed on land. He followed Anne closely as they wandered into the town. Anne took hold of his hand.

"It can get crowded, don't want you getting lost."

Yeah, sure, that's a reasonable excuse. Sephiroth felt a little smirk forming on his face as he squeezed her hand. They wandered through the town and Anne had been right, there were lots of humans around in the centre. It was loud, people were pushing past and he ended up gripping the poor girl's hand to the point she had to turn around and ask for him to be gentler.

Anne led him around what she called the market. It was very colourful, there were interesting scents wherever he turned and even more strange creatures that weren't from the sea. He felt like a little child again, fascinated by everything new and strange. He didn't even notice Anne making small purchases here and there as he watched what Anne called cats curiously. Were these the creatures that caught people's tongues? Sephiroth swallowed uneasily. He'd better not get too close.

"Cute, aren't they?" the princess brought him out of his reverie "Come on, we'd better get out of here before it gets really crowded and I could get recognised if people stare long enough."

This wasn't really crowded?! Sephiroth followed her reluctantly, wanting to see more of the market but she was right. Being royalty, she could end up being flocked by suitors, or that's how Sephiroth experienced being recognised in public. He cracked his neck a little. Not under his watch.

"Make way for His Royal Highness!"

"Hide!" Anne squeaked shortly after that announcement as the crowd began to clear the road.

Where?! Sephiroth looked around before being pushed down a dark alleyway. It was narrow and he barely fit as Anne, with her small package of whatever she had bought, followed him and kept her eyes on the road.

"Oh please don't see me," she squeaked.

Sephiroth took her by the shoulders and shuffled around so he was blocking her from the public. He held her close as she began shivering. Curious, he turned his head to watched the people bow their heads to whoever was coming through the town. He watched as a parade of those Chocobos walked past and in the centre was a finely dressed man with long black hair and an expressionless face. Was this the Tseng Anne and her mother had been talking about? He embraced Anne a little tighter who glanced up at him.

"You…don't need to…hold me this close," she whispered with red cheeks.

Sephiroth glanced down at her and smiled. He didn't mind. Her cheeks went redder and she leaned her forehead against his chest to hide her embarrassed expression. They stood like that for a while until the last of the royal guards had disappeared. They shuffled out of the alleyway and went back to the Chocobos, much to Sephiroth's chagrin.

"Let's not go back just yet," the princess muttered as she glanced at the palace disdainfully "It's a beautiful day, I know just the spot where we can spend a couple of hours."

Sephiroth raised a curious brow at her as they mounted the Chocobos and Anne began riding hers off towards the coast. He swallowed uncertainly as he urged Silver Wind to follow, only to clutch on tightly as he sped off.

* * *

Anne had to ride Poppy in front of Silver Wind to slow him down when they reached her favourite spot to hide from her mother. She smiled up at Rune who looked a little pale.

"I think you're getting used to him," she said reassuringly and Rune blinked "Trust me, I've seen others fare worse."

Rune still didn't look convinced as he dropped off Silver Wind and Anne slid down Poppy, package in hand. The Chocobos began to pace around the meadow as she let Rune to the trees by the cliff that provided enough shade for the both of them. Rune stared up at the tall umbrella like structures as Anne set down the package, carefully unwrapping it to reveal a small picnic of water, bread, cheese and some pastries. She fumbled around in her pockets, taking out a knife and unsheathing it as she offered Rune to sit down on the grass. The tall man sat down against the tree roots, watching curiously as she sliced the bread and cut into the cheese. She spread the soft cheese onto one slice of the baguette and offered it to him.

"Try it, I don't know if you've had this cheese before. It's the town's speciality."

Rune took the slice curiously, sniffing it and wrinkling his nose at the scent. Anne laughed as she helped herself to some cheese and bread.

"I know, it's got a strong scent. But it's good, I promise."

Rune looked apprehensive but took a bite nonetheless after watching her eat her slice. He chewed thoughtfully and Anne offered him one of the bottles of water with a small smile. He swallowed and accepted the water, his eyes flashing a little.

"Not your cup of tea?"

He looked befuddled at that term and Anne rolled her eyes.

"You don't mind it but you'd rather not have it again?"

Rune nodded after the confusion cleared up in his eyes. Anne smiled as he stared at the bottle curiously. He watched as she opened her bottle and began drinking, mimicking and drooling a little. Anne snorted water up her nose and coughed. Rune stared at her as Anne wiped the water with her shirt, sighing.

"I hate it when that happens," she grumbled whilst wrapping up the cheese.

She coughed again as Rune looked at the pastries curiously. She picked up the cinnamon rolls first, offering him one.

"These are sweet, if you prefer."

Rune took the cinnamon roll and watched as she unrolled the pastry and took a bite out of the strip she tore off. He mimicked her and chewed thoughtfully, though he didn't seem as disgusted.

"You like sweet things then I suppose?"

Rune tilted his head from side to side and Anne tilted her head curiously.

"Hmm, you're a bit tricky to figure out," she murmured.

Rune blinked as he reached out for the eclairs. Anne let him take one and watched as he bit into it then began laughing as he got cream down his shirt. He gave her an annoyed look and flicked the cream onto her, making her yelp and frown.

"Really, you shouldn't play with your food."

This being said, she scooped up the cream off her shirt and licked her hand clean. Rune just smirked at her and she stuck her tongue out at her. He gave her a reprimanding look.

"Don't give me that look, you look exactly like my father."

The look vanished instantly and Anne grinned. She stretched her arms and glanced out at the ocean, smiling as the breeze blew into her and she smelt the salt air.

"I love this spot," she sighed as she shuffled to sit next to him.

Rune glanced at her and she smiled.

"It's peaceful, the sea is calming to listen to, I could just live my life in a small house and not have to worry about my parents or being a princess."

Rune let her rest against his shoulder.

"Sorry, I didn't sleep well last night," she yawned.

He curled his arm around her as she promptly fell asleep.

* * *

Sephiroth cradled Anne close, watching her sleep and lifted her pearl up into the light. It was beautiful, enchanting and Sephiroth truly did feel drawn to it. There was something nostalgic about it, like he had seen something similar before. He shook his head. Maybe he was imagining things.

He glanced at the sea, watching the waves shifted and crash onto the cliffs further along the coast. Anne shifted in his grip and he leaned back against the tall hard plant behind him. These were different, nothing like what they had underwater. There was no coral, strange creatures and he was admittedly still getting used to his legs. He lifted his foot up and twisted it from side to side curiously.

Anne grumbled slightly and Sephiroth heard someone approaching. He turned his head and recognised Lightning and Sky coming down the slope and approached them in the shade. Sky tilted his head at them and raised an eyebrow.

"You do seem close to her."

Sephiroth watched as he slipped off and gave him a stern look.

"What do you want with her?" he asked as he crouched in front of him "I myself don't like this situation one bit."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes and Sky lowered his head to give him an ominous glare.

"She's like a daughter to me. I've helped raise her if the Queen was too occupied with her charity work. I hope you'll understand that I won't let you get away easily if you do something to hurt her."

Great, he had two overprotective fathers to keep an eye out for. Brilliant. Sephiroth just straightened his back and hugged Anne closer with a challenging snort. Sky growled softly before standing.

"Speaking of, the Queen is asking for her daughter," he announced "You'd best return to the palace as quickly as possible. Lord Tseng doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Sephiroth hesitated as he glanced down at Anne who was so peacefully sleeping. He then looked up at Sky who folded his arms.

"I know but it will get worse the longer we wait around."

Sephiroth sighed as he looked back down at Anne. He then shot a smirk at Sky and tilted Anne's chin up to kiss her forehead. Anne stirred as Sky's fists clenched and Sephiroth smirked wider, kissing the top of her head next.

"What?" the princess grumbled as she opened her eyes.

"Your mother is waiting for you."

Anne stared up at Sky with alarmed eyes before launching herself away from Sephiroth.

"How long have you been there?!" she squeaked with adorably flushed cheeks.

"Oh, I just found you two," Sky lied smoothly with a warm smile "Your mother is anxious for you to return, Lord Tseng is eager to see you."

"Oh Gaia no, please, Sky!"

Anne got up to her feet, brushed herself down and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Just a little while longer," she pouted so adorably.

Sky smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Your Highness, that stopped working since you were twelve."

"Damn it, Sky!"

Sky laughed as he whistled for Lightning.

"Come on, you'll have to return sooner or later."

Anne grumbled under her breath as she began pacing around, gathering up the half eaten cheese, bread and pastries. Sephiroth got up as Silver Wind strolled over and shook himself out, looking down at him expectantly. He reluctantly mounted the Chocobo as Anne got on Poppy and they followed Sky and Lightning back to the palace, both of them not wanting to.


End file.
